One Last Reason
by Wolfschlitzen
Summary: Set in season three. Buffy is faced with her greatest loss and gives up everything because of it. The Gang will have to figure out how to deal with the Mayor’s Ascension, help Buffy in her weakness, and save Willow from a deal with a demon. Wiffy
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimers: BtVS is Joss' world, I'm just fiddling with it. Takata and his lyrics are property of Kim Harrison (if you haven't read her books, READ THEM! They're awesome, I swear) All credit goes to Harrison for the bits of her world that I steal. One last thing, the line "It'll hurt like the son" is Harrison's as well (not sure if I need to say that or not for such a short line). One last little note: I am still working on Fallen. Just needed a change of pace, so I'm not sure when the next chapter for it will be up.

Author's Notes: Thanks go to Rebelrsr for their help in proofing this. Also want to make the comment that a few ideas for this fic were sparked by the books written by Kim Harrison. The sparks will be a little more obvious in later chapters, but I just wanted to give forewarning that I will be tweaking Joss' world to fit a touch better with Harrion's.

Walking through the crowd of students in Sunnydale High was a petite blonde side by side with a tall brown haired boy. The small blonde was wearing red leather pants with a black t-shirt, muttering to herself, "I can't believe I called her reliable. I mean could I get the metaphorical boot any further in my mouth?"

The teen dressed in a green sweater and jeans grabbed her arm and moved the two of them to the side of the hallway so they could talk. "Whoa, slow down there, Buffy. Everyone makes mistakes when it comes to their friends," the boy said and shrugged his backpack off and onto the ground to be more comfortable.

"Yeah, but not when it comes to their best friends, Xander," Buffy wallowed in her self pity.

"Buff, I think it was obvious Willow is having a bad day," Xander argued, "There wasn't anything you could have done that would have made things better."

Harrumphing and crossing her arms, she snipped back, "Well you not helping would have made things better."

Xander ran a hand through his unruly hair as he said, "Alright, you've got me there. So what are we going to do about it?"

"Apologize to her, just as soon as we find her," Buffy said as she stood up on her tip toes to try and look over the throng of passing students. Hearing the bell ring, Buffy gave up her search and turned back to Xander. "After school you check out the library to see if she's there; I'll go check her house and the Bronze."

"Roger that, Buffster. Meet up at the Bronze later?" he asked and bent over to scoop up his backpack.

Nodding her agreement, the small blonde took off for her next class. When school ended, the blonde practically sprinted out of the building heading for her best friend's house. Finding no one home, Buffy started to make her way to the teen club. By the time she made it to the club the sky was overcast making it surprisingly dark. Reaching the old warehouse that had been converted into a dance club, Buffy could hear the blare of hard, fast music playing. Stepping inside, the girl started scanning the place for her redheaded friend. Catching sight of red hair and a jock from school getting into a fight, she moved without thinking. Breaking the hold the redhead had on the jock and throwing him to the ground Buffy yelled, "Hey, get the hell away from her!"

Nodding up from the ground as he shook with fear, the jock scurried off. Turning back around to face her best friend, Buffy received the biggest shock of her life. Standing before her was her best friend of three years decked out in a full leather get up. Black, skintight leather pants left little to the imagination, and the corset she had on gave definition to curves that were normally hidden under fluffy sweaters. The blonde's face went completely slack as she took in her friend's new look. "Ugh, meh, um… Wow Willow, the new look is… great!" Buffy stuttered out, wiping away the bit a drool that slipped from her mouth. "I knew you were talking about changing things, but isn't this a bit drastic?"

The redhead simply squinted her eyes and glared. "It's you. I don't like you," she said in an eerie voice that seemed to drip venom. Turning away Willow stalked off through the back door of the Bronze leaving Buffy standing stock still.

The blonde was shocked at what her friend just said. Not only had she sounded like she hated her, but there was something dark in her voice, something she never thought could even exist in her friendly, kind hacker. (No, no, something's not right. I'm not going to just let her storm off for a second time today,) Buffy thought, (I'm not going to let this fester.)

Following the redhead out the door, she found herself in an alley. It was empty save for a few boxes and dumpsters. The only source of light came from the lamp that hung above the door she just left. Quickly looking to the exits of the alley, she spotted Willow about to leave. Buffy hurried after her, calling out, "Willow, stop. Something's obviously wrong; please let me help."

The leather clad girl, stopped but didn't turn around. "This world is wrong. It's boring," her cold voice carried on the soft wind passing through the back street.

"Wrong? Boring? Will, you're not making any sense," the blonde said hopelessly.

Ignoring what Buffy was saying, the redhead started talking again. "This world's no fun, but I think you could help with that, Slayer."

"Slayer?" Buffy asked in a confused tone as Willow turned around. She never called Buffy by her sacred position. The smile she had on didn't seem to fit the normally shy hacker. It was leering and more than a little dangerous. Her eyes were twinkling with mischief, and not something that a juvenile delinquent would think of. No this was darker than that, much darker. The Slayer actually took a step back from her friend's look and tried to talk again, but her voice only came out as a small whisper, "Willow? You're scaring me."

"Aww, poor baby," she said patronizingly, "You're going to be so much more than scared when I'm done with you."

The next thing that happened completely knocked the ground from under the blonde. She couldn't seem to breathe, much less move as she watched her best friend's face shift and change to reveal a demonic visage of Willow's pale features. It seemed to take an eternity as the green eyes switched to gold and her smooth forehead to become ridged. The worst part was when the redhead smiled again at her, long fangs protruding and gleaming in the glow thrown by the light.

Walking over to the blonde with a noticeable sway to her hips the vampiric Willow licked her lips in anticipation. She only asked one thing, "Wanna be bad?"

­

School had just ended, and Xander was headed to one of the places Willow would show up– the library. Pushing the doors open, Xander called out, "Willow, you here?"

Looking up from where she was sitting, the redhead spotted her childhood friend across the table that had several piles of books. "Hey, Xander," she said dryly. "Going to try and make things better like you did at the fountain?"

"Um… I am going to try and make things better, but not like that," the boy said hesitantly. "I really didn't mean to make you feel bad earlier, I just meant it was good to be responsible. Sorta like the opposite of me," Xander finished, looking at his shoes.

Pushing her chair back, she stood up and went around the table to Xander. Shrugging her shoulders, Willow said, "Hey, it's alright. I was just having a bad day. Getting some alone time and looking up stuff for Giles helped me relax."

"You're really alright now?" Xander asked, looking Willow in the face. She nodded her head, and Xander let out a breath he didn't know he was holding. "Ok, that's good. Now we just need to catch up to Buffy and tell her the good news. By the way, where's Giles?"

"Back here," a British voice floated out from the further book stacks.

"Oh. Hey, Giles, we'll be at the Bronze if you need us," the teen said as he and Willow left.

"Ah, alright, I'll keep researching the Mayor's ascension," the old librarian answered back, not knowing he was talking to no one. "What ever the bloody hell that is," he mumbled to himself.

Black spiked hair waved back and forth as Oz scanned around for his friends. He was sitting at a table in a yellow t-shirt and slightly below the knee shorts, hoping to catch some glimpse of a familiar face. The sea of moving bodies and low lighting did little to help in his search. He knew none of his friends would be on the second floor of the Bronze, so he kept his eyes level, constantly brushing across the two entrances of the dance club. Having once been a warehouse, there was plenty of room for the dance floor and table area. The second floor wasn't much more than a place to stand, but it did offer a good vantage point for the rest of the place. Hoping to get a better chance of spotting the Gang, Oz headed for the stairs. Still searching the crowd, his eyes stopped on a black haired woman. She was wearing a leather jacket with a fur collar, giving her a dangerous look. The ripped and tattered jeans added to her appearance rather than making her seem poor. When her sky-blue eyes met Oz's own brown ones, he felt like she knew all of his secrets, looking straight through him and connecting with something deep within.

"Hey, Oz. Why aren't you up on stage?" Angel asked as he seemed to appear next to the werewolf, breaking his eye contact with the girl. The vampire's clean shaven face and haunted look made the old vampire appear timid, but Oz knew he was anything but. He was dressed in his usual black slacks and button shirt. Add in the full length leather duster, and he completed the image of a dark, mysterious, and broody vampire.

"One of the guys hasn't shown up yet. We've got the stereo playing to cover till he shows." Just then the current song playing ended. Changing his direction from the stairs to the stage, the werewolf tagged one of the people setting things up. "Hey, put Takata on." Nodding, the staff member went to switch CD's. Turning back to Angel, he asked, "You looking for Buffy?"

"As always," he smoothly answered.

"She hasn't shown; in fact, no one has," Oz said. "They said they would."

As if summoned, Xander and Willow walked in. The two friends looked around for the rest of their little group. Spotting them over near the stage, they made their way over just as a slow drum beat started reverberating through the warehouse. Immediately recognizing the intro, Xander spoke up, "You guys have Footprints of the Ghost going?" giving a name to the song.

"Yeah, just got Takata's newest CD. Thought I'd play it for everyone while one of the guys gets here," Oz said in his usual calm voice.

A low male voice came over the speakers as a guitar started to pick a slow tune. "The ghost is leaving footprints. In the sunshine. Past the gate." A bass slid into the song as it picked up tempo.

"You guys seen Buffy?" Willow asked.

"No," Angel answered. "I'm sure she'll show."

Xander shook his head, "Something's up. She should have been here way before any of us. She left right after school to look for Will."

"You're right, something feels off," Angel agreed.

The Slayer staggered back as the demon with her friend's face sauntered toward her. 'Oh God, she's dead. I failed her,' Buffy thought as self loathing and despair rose up inside her. 'I messed up, and now she's dead.' Looking into the frighteningly beautiful face of the vampire, tears built up in her eyes. 'I never told her. I never told her how I felt, how my feelings had changed for her.' As her vision blurred and her mind became even more hazed, she lifted a hand up to cup the vampire's cheek. The redhead surprisingly leaned into the touch, though Buffy hardly registered it. "I never meant for you to get hurt, Will, and I know I could never harm you. I love you too much." Her voice was choked with emotion. Looking into the startlingly beautiful gold eyes, Buffy's breath caught. "Even without your soul, you're the most gorgeous thing in the world." Salty tears ran down her face as she looked at her best friend.

Turning her head and rubbing her face into the palm, the vampiric Willow was practically purring. At hearing the confession, a devious smile slipped over her face. "Shhh, it's alright. Don't cry. I'll make everything better," the demon said soothingly. Bringing their faces closer, the vampire placed her lips over the blonde's. At first, the Slayer didn't react, but when a cool tongue brushed against her mouth, her own tongue reached out to meet its cooler counterpart with surprising intensity.

The reaction was stronger than the vampire has expected, as guilt, desire, and anguish poured through her from the kiss. Slipping her arms down around the shorter girl's waist, she pulled her closer. The vampire broke the kiss and looked Buffy in the eyes. Seeing her lust and devotion in the dilated amber eyes, the vampire gave a nearly unperceivable nod. Buffy somehow caught its meaning and tilted her head away, slowly displaying her scarred neck to the redhead's hungry gaze. 'I think I'm going to stay in this world. I've never had a Slayer before and with her we might be able to make this world fun,' the demon thought with slow building anticipation.

Buffy felt unreal after sharing the heated kiss with the vampiric Willow. Breathing heavily to catch her breath, she noticed the smell of leather, ash, and something that was uniquely Willow. The incense was like redwood after a storm. Knowing it came from the redhead, Buffy pulled the scent deep into her and released it.

Seeing the small nod, the Slayer knew exactly what the vampire wanted. With Willow dead, there was no reason to not accept what was being offered. Baring her neck for the vampire, she said one thing, "I'm glad it was you, Willow."

Smiling at the willingness of the blonde, the vampire kissed her neck gently. Keeping her mouth close to the flesh, she grazed the skin with her fangs, drawing twin pale lines. Not hard enough to puncture but enough to send a jolt of sensation running though Buffy who drew in a gasp at the touch.

"It will hurt like the sun, but then it will feel good," the vampire whispered huskily, "really good."

Shivering in anticipation and fear, Buffy waited for the bite. When it came, it was so much different from the Master's. While his was meant to simply deliver agony and death, this one was meant to release and give new life. She cried out in pain as the fangs cut through her skin as they felt like twin searing flames. When the hurt didn't recede, Buffy began to panic. Suddenly the impulses began to shift. Screaming in pain changed to moaning in bliss as the burning feeling melted into pleasure. Feeling the demon that had been her friend drain her life blood felt right, fitting. Panting from both the ecstasy and blood loss, Buffy's mouth turned up into a smile. The last thing to go through the girl's mind was Willow sitting under a tree in the park with the sun high above.

The Slayer's blood was better than an aphrodisiac; it was the nectar of the gods! Like burning liquid, the blood slid down her throat. The red elixir filled her body, spreading its warmth and strength throughout the vampire. Willow could do nothing other than draw more of the ambrosia into her. Buffy's strength fled from her body, making her legs weak, and Willow followed her to the ground. When she heard the Slayer's heart beat slow to near nothing, she released her mouth. Biting her own wrist to make it bleed, she shoved it into Buffy's mouth. Convulsively latching on, she drank the demon tainted blood. At last, the Slayer fell limp in the redhead's hands. Setting her on the ground, the vampire stood. It was done – a Slayer had been turned.


	2. Chapter 2

Author's Notes: As usual I must thank my good friend, Rebelrsr for making time in her day to go through this chapter ( . there were a lot of comma mistakes and such) As to the normal kind of a/n's there's this - I need to make a little comment, might be just a tiny bit important. There is no Anya, or at the very least she didn't work with Willow to bring Vamp Willow to this reality, nor did Willow do it. The whos and whats will be answered, just not yet.

Author's Notes: GAH!! Ok, this is what happens when you dont preview your chapter or look at it after youve posted it. (stupid thing removed my vamp track lines) So I've now put the vamp track back in. /denotes Takata singing + denotes vamp track.

She licked the remnants of the Slayer's blood from her lips as she breathed in its rich coppery scent. Letting her face revert to its human guise, the redhead heard the scuffing of boots on pavement. The sound was followed shortly by a voice filled with mock concern from behind her, "Someone hurt back here?" Willow dusted herself off and gazed at the still blonde at her feet.

"No, I think she thought it felt good," she said turning around to face three large ugly vampires. Their faces were already changed to show their true selves. Bruisers. Nothing more than that, and far below her notice. Unless…

"Well, I'm sure this won't feel good," the closest one said. Rushing forward, he swung a meaty fist at the shorter redhead's face.

Gracefully sliding to left, she let the fist pass through where she had stood. Before the big vamp could recover, Willow snatched his outstretched wrist in her cold grasp and pulled forward. Losing his balance, he started falling forward - only to have his fall halted by a solid boot dropkicking his head, causing him to nearly flip backward. His heavy body landed with a resounding thud; he didn't even twitch after hitting the ground.

Knowing he was out of the fight, Willow turned her attention to the two still standing vampires. Shocked by how easily the redhead had defeated their largest companion, they were a touch more cautious and started moving to opposite sides of her. The one on Willow's left picked up a length of chain, letting it rattle as he wrapped it around his forearm. The other drew a small knife from his boot. Willow just looked at the two with a bored expression on her face.

They attacked at the same time. The chain came hurtling at her; she blocked it with her left forearm and let it encircle the arm as she dropped into a crouch to avoid the knife being trust at her. Spinning, she let her leg sweep out; her shin connected with the knife-wielding vamp's legs, sending him sprawling while the chained vampire was pulled closer.

He realized that holding one end of a chain while its opposing end was connected to a redhead that was beating the shit out of 'colleagues' was probably not a wise decision. With this thought in mind, he frantically tried to untangle his arm from the chain. Unfortunately for him, he wasn't fast enough and found his face racing to meet said redhead's fist. Standing up, she dropped the chain next to the unconscious vampire and turned around to face the one she had tripped. He was scuttling backward trying to get away from Willow, paying no mind to the knife he had lost in his tumble.

"This is a mistake. We were sent to kill a human!" Fear made his voice shake and the words trip over each other.

The frightened vamp was noticeably shorter than Willow, and his blond, curly hair made him look young. Only his demonic face offered any reason for a normal human to be afraid of him. "Hmm," Willow hummed as she stepped closer to the downed vampire. Crouching so they were eye level, Willow tilted her head to the side and gave him a disturbing smile. "Who do you work for?" Her sweet voice dripping of hidden whispers of violence. Right after she asked her question, a slow drum beat was heard through the walls of Bronze.

The drum seemed to be the physical beat of the vampires last moments. "I-I don't know anything." The vampire was obviously trying to figure out who it would be worse to piss off – his current employer or the nice lady sitting right next to him. The sudden fist shooting out to hit him in between his legs helped sway him in choosing whose side to go with.

"Who do you work for?" Willow asked again in her sickly sweet voice.

Rolling before her in pain, the weaker vampire gasped out, "Wilkins, Mayor Wilkins."

Licking her lips, the redhead knew she was going to like it here. The vampires around here seemed weak, making her appear even stronger than she was in her old world. Grabbing a clump of blond hair, she forced the other vampire to face her. Asking one last time, she said, "Who do you work for?"

Understanding dawned in the thug's pain laden eyes. "You," he answered.

"Good." She gave him another disquieting smile. "Good boy," she complimented. Standing up, she walked back over to the dead Slayer. "Get your friends. We're going to make this world fun," she ordered as she bent down to brush a loose lock away from the pale face. As if that was some sort of signal, golden eyes shot open to meet green ones above.

A devious smile crept over the blonde's face as she leaned up to Willow's. Before capturing her sire's lips, she whispered, "Really fun." Buffy smashed her lips into the redhead's for a rough kiss.

/Choices made in ignorance. Lead to aberrant twists of fate,/ Takata's flowing voice sang out through the club's speakers.

"You sure Buffy was supposed to be here before you?" Oz asked Xander.

"Yeah, positive," he answered. "She really wanted to say she was sorry to Will."

"Maybe she left to look in other places," Angel offered.

Willow was scanning the entrances while the guys talked about where Buffy might be. When Angel started to say something else, she caught sight of the familiar blonde. Waving to her, Willow got the rest of the Gang's attention. "Hey, there she is."

Buffy didn't catch sight of the Scoobies because her attention was more focused on the immediate people around her. A hungry smile was on her face as she peered at everyone. She started to move toward a nearby brunette when she was suddenly stopped by a pair of leather-clad arms encircling her waist from behind. The only thing the gang could see of the person belonging to those arms was that it was a girl with red hair who was covered in skin-tight leather. They saw her whisper something in Buffy's ear, and whatever it was caused her smile to widen. Turning around, she slipped her own arms around the girl's waist and planted a deep kiss on her lips.

All of the Scoobies' jaws were on the ground at the sight. Even Oz's usual stoic front was slightly cracked at the display. Willow's babble, too, seemed to be broken as chopped sentences fell from her mouth. "But she's dating… She's not..." Finally, she was able to form one coherent sentence. "Why is she sucking on that girl's face!?"

Takata's voice filled the silence as the Gang continued to stare in shock. /Pain looks for a vessel. Tracking footprints for a mate./

At last, the two broke their heated kiss. Feeling the pull of the dance floor, they made their way through the crowd of people. As the two passed through, the mass seemed to unconsciously part before them. The way Buffy brought the other girl behind kept her face hidden from the Gang.

Just as the two made it onto the floor, Takata's voice whispered out over the crowd /And she goes… Dancing…/

The Gang continued to watch slack jawed as Buffy and her partner danced, if what they were doing could even be called dancing.The redhead slid a leg between the blonde's and wrapped her arms around the shorter girl's neck, pulling their bodies even closer. Riding the girl's thigh, Buffy threw her head back and let her right hand run up the leather-clad back and into the red locks. The other had a much better goal in mind. Moving in the opposite direction of its twin, its first destination was the leather-clad butt of the taller girl. After pinching it for a moment, she slid the hand between them and into the skin-tight pants.

Cupping the redhead's mound, Buffy leaned in and covered her partner's lips with her own, enjoying the way she moaned into her mouth. Keeping her hand where it was, she let her mouth leave a trail of kisses along the other's jaw line. Hearing Takata sing his next line /Barometer is falling/, Buffy placed her mouth close to the redhead's ear and sang softly +Rain in the desert+. She sang in perfect counter to Takata's voice. It almost sounded as though the words and tone were meant to be there, but there was no one singing other than Takata.

However, Angel's vampiric ears heard differently. He heard a female voice flowing from the speakers. Her mesmerizing sound whispered the very same words Buffy uttered. Angel's eyes caught the Slayer's lips moving to the words being sung by the woman. He knew something about the woman singing – she was a vampire, and he knew no living being should have been able to hear her.

To Angel, the whole world disappeared as he focused on the voice and the words Buffy's lips shaped. /Sun Rises Red,/ Takata's strong voice boomed out, only to be followed by the same enchanting and eerie voice +Out of time, out of place+. Just like before, Buffy's lips formed the word the vampire sang.

Angel could only mumble out, "She can hear the vampire track," as he tried to figure out what it meant.

The song continued on with Takata's voice carrying a dangerous edge /Troubles coming./ He was echoed by the haunting voice again +Look at her go+.

When Buffy mimicked this line, a manic smile crept over her face as her eyes locked on Angel's. As they looked at each other, the old vampire felt a chill crawl up his spine. Suddenly, a large number of rough looking men entered the Bronze and moved unnoticed to all the exits. They glanced around to make sure no one was looking as they pulled out chains and locked the doors.

Then, in the song, the instruments and singing stopped. Into the silence Takata's well-known voice and the enchanting vampire sang out at the same time. /Dancing to dangerous music/. +The footprints of a ghost+.

As the chorus ended, the two on the dance floor separated. Not entirely, but they weren't in each other's pants any longer. Instead, their attention moved to a nearby blonde that was dressed in a tight mini-skirt and baby-t, leaving her midriff bare. At a nod from the redhead, Buffy slid up behind the girl, turning her back to the Gang, and began running her hands up and down the sides of the girl while grinding into her. The other blonde didn't even open her eyes when she felt the sudden attention; instead, she just went with it and moved with Buffy.

At the same time the Slayer moved so did her previous dance partner. However, she glided to the new blonde's front, pressing their chests together and reaching around to put her hands on Buffy's hips. Lifting her head, she looked past the blondes, letting her vision roam over the Gang. When her eyes settled on the other Willow, she felt her face split into a wide grin.

At first, they didn't recognize who they were looking at. But soon it registered, and they were once again at a loss for words. No one could fully understand what was going on: first Buffy came in, practically having sex with some unknown redhead and then they find out that she's Willow? And on top of that, Angel was still trying to figure out what the vamp tracks were about. Needless to say, confusion reigned.

Oz was the first to speak. "Um, Willow, you don't by any chance happen to have a twin sister that has a thing with Buffy, do you?"

"No, no, not one that I know of, at least," Willow said as she tried to figure out if what she was seeing was in fact real. Looking over the other Willow, she seemed like she was from another world - the tight leather contrasting with the fluffy sweater and loose jeans she herself was wearing. When their eyes connected, though, Willow realized that she and the other girl were one and the same. As she continued to look into the mirroring green eyes, she saw a change come over them. They slowly began to fill with golden flecks, ending with them a solid gold and a ravenous hunger behind them.

Author's notes: My next update plan is to get Truth's next chapter up. Granted it is causing me problems but I aim to get it done by next Saturday at the latest.


	3. Chapter 3

Author's Notes: Thanks go to Rebelrsr for checking over this thing, trust me, there was a lot to check. Biggest note really is next chapter I plan to work on is Reminding the Fallen's 28. Other than that I've got nothing I think… or hope…. Regardless here's the chapter. :)

Angel saw the vampiric change come over the leather-clad Willow and everything clicked into place. A low growl rumbled deep within him as he understood that Buffy had been turned. There was no question about it after seeing her singing along to the vamp track and her doing nothing as the other Willow shifted. Struggling to control his anger at Buffy being vamped, he turned his head to whisper to the gang when his eyes caught sight of the large vampires guarding the doors. Another growl came forth since he knew the vampires in the Bronze were planning on feasting on everyone inside.

Oz looked over at Angel to see what the growling was about, but the rest of the gang watched in shock as vampire Willow's face shifted. Once the ridges and fangs were fully formed she tilted her head down towards the unknown blonde's neck.

Willow was lost. 'Nothing's making sense. Buffy's just kissing the girl's neck as she lets vampire-me lean in to bite the girl,' the redhead thought in confusion. Just as her double's fangs sank into the unknown girl's neck, Willow called out instinctively to the Slayer, "Buffy!"

Buffy looked over at the Willow next to her when she heard her voice. Seeing that she was drinking heavily from the girl they were eating, she looked into the crowd.

When Buffy turned around, the gang saw a ridged forehead, the golden eyes of a vampire, and fangs dripping with blood where Buffy's face should have been.

Buffy caught sight of the Willow in the fluffy sweater and loose jeans and blinked - then smirked. Turning back to the Willow in leather she said, "The blood must be making me see things. There are two of you now. Here I thought one would be enough to satiate my thirst."

Willow lifted her bloody mouth away from her meal to look at Buffy. "That's because there are."

Buffy's smirk dropped from her face in a heartbeat. "You mean she's real?" Buffy asked with a slight hint of fear.

"She's more than real." Willow paused to lick her lips clean, "Her blood thrums beneath her skin. I'd love to kiss and tell."

Buffy's mind slowed to a near stop. 'Wait. Willow's right in front of me – dead, undead, vampy, whatever!' she yelled in her mind as confusion and anger swirled. 'She's dead and yet there's another one in the crowd.' Buffy paused in her ramblings. 'In the crowd…' Turning back to look at the other Willow, she saw what she feared; the rest of the Scoobies. 'Then… then… that's my Will… Then what's?' Buffy's eyes glazed over as she looked at the vampire next to her. Buffy settled on her most basic instincts: fight or flight. As always, whenever emotions were involved, she went with flight.

Dropping the blonde in her arms and breaking free of the redheaded vampire, Buffy practically flew for one of the exits. Unfortunately, there were two large bruiser vampires guarding the door. Unfortunate for them as the Slayer moved with speed and power that no one had even seen before. Sending one into a nearby wall with enough force to crack his skull, Buffy threw the other into a pallet leaning up against the wall. It shattered in hundreds of pieces, and a small chunk found its way into the large vamp's heart, bursting into a cloud of ash. When she reached the exit, she found it locked with a chain. Buffy simply kicked the double doors squarely in the middle. The chain snapped like string, and the doors went flying off their hinges. With her path clear, the undead Slayer spent no time in running like hell itself was after her.

Vampire Willow was surprised at the Slayer's sudden action. The girl she had just been sucking fell forgotten to the floor as she called after her Slayer Vampire, "Childe! Get back here!" But her childe was already out the door. A smirk graced her features as she quietly purred, "Bad kitty, I'll have to punish you."

Angel finally let loose a deafening roar as his face changed, and he charged the vamped Willow. Hearing her say childe gave him something to focus his anger on. 'She's the one who cursed Buffy. She killed her!' Thoughts screamed through his mind; yet all that came out were animalistic growls and snarls. His first punch caught the vampire straight in the face as she had turned around to see what had made the sound.

As their fight started, the vampires around the Bronze closed in. The crowd of people began screaming and fleeing for the broken door. The Gang snapped into action at the advancing vampire guards. Xander went over to a pool table and grabbed one of the cues. Breaking it over his leg, he tossed the tip over to Oz and moved to intercept the vampires heading towards Angel.

"Thanks for the small end," Oz said in his usual controlled tone. He rushed a vampire from behind and plunged the makeshift stake through his heart. That got another vamp's attention.

"Hey! If you want a bigger one go find your own stick," Xander retorted as he used his cue to club a vampire across the back. As he staggered forward Xander hit the vamp to his right in the face.

As her friends were pulled into the fray, Willow drew a bottle of holy water from her purse and moved to help them. Splashing the water on the vampire going at Oz's back, she managed to make it turn away in pain. Noticing Willow had entered the fight both male teens moved closer to her cover her. "We need to open a path for these people to get out," Willow said to them.

"That'll be a little hard to do, even with Buff busting through," Xander responded over his shoulder as he staked another vamp.

At a shrill whistle, the human combatants looked up. "You want these blood suckers cleared?" The Scoobies looked for the source of the sounds; it was a girl wearing a leather jacket with a fur collar. Oz recognized her from his earlier scanning of the Bronze and wondered why she was offering to help in the fight. "Want to cover me for a min or two?" she asked.

"What for?" Oz asked hesitantly. His inner animal seemed to be getting more restless and it was not because of the fight. Some sort of aura or scent emanated from the girl, and his wolf was picking up on it.

"You'll see," she said with a wolfish-grin. She threw off the jacket she had been wearing and doubled over as if in pain. The hackles on the back of Oz's neck stood up as he watched the girl shake. Lowering her knees to the ground, she wrapped her arms around her midsection. She started thrashing uncontrollably as her body shifted. Faint snapping sounds could be heard as the girl's bones reconfigured themselves. Her new skeleton and muscles shredded her clothes, and fur rapidly grew to cover her. After the creature that had been a girl stopped shaking, she lifted her muzzle to look at Oz through wolf eyes. A grin seemed to come over the feral mouth as she stood up on her legs.

Looking into those animalistic eyes, Oz saw human intellect.

Standing to her full height, the werewolf towered over even the largest vampire. Easily eight feet tall, she moved with a speed that belied her size. Her midnight fur reflected the shoddy lights that lit the Bronze as her tremendous, clawed hands clamped down on the necks of two vampires. She lifted them to eye level. With a low growl, the were, threw the pitiful creatures across the length of the large dance floor. Before they even reached the far wall, the raven-furred werewolf had moved on to her next victims.

While the appearance of the wolf was a great surprise, the Gang recovered quickly. They started to usher the civilians out through the door Buffy had busted open. With the help of the werewolf, the Bronze rapidly cleared of all party goers and vampires save for Angel and the vamp Willow up on stage. The old vampire was standing over the pale Willow with pure hatred in his eyes as he raised a stake to end the doppelganger's existence.

"Angel, stop!" a voice yelled out.

The fury driven vampire looked up at the source of the interruption with golden eyes. The stake in his hand hovered barely an inch above the female vampire's heart. His shifted face locked onto the living redhead's Resolve Face. Even under the baleful glare of the old vampire, Willow's famed visage held up slowly, pushing Angel to regain his reasoning and sanity. "Why?" he growled out between fangs.

"We need her. That may not have been our Buffy, it could have been another double," Willow explained. "And if she really did turn our Buffy then she might be our best chance at showing Buffy we're not going to outright dust her."

"Uh, Will? Not quite following. Wouldn't it be better to stake that thing, especially if it did turn our Buff?" Xander asked.

Angel's sudden growl started out low but quickly grew to a monstrous roar. Swinging his stake down, he flipped the wood around and struck the vampire beneath him in the head with the larger end, knocking her unconscious. "Willow's right. We need her for answers and for her to use her sire bond to bring that Buffy here."

Bursting through the door, Buffy continued running like a bat out of hell. So many things were going through her mind that she just shut everything off and fled. Running blindly through Sunnydale, she lost track of time. When she finally came to a stop, she unconsciously noticed she wasn't out of breath. Her muscles didn't even burn from the exertion. Wandering through a wrought iron fence, Buffy finally realized where she was: one of Sunnydale's many cemeteries. A rough chuckle escaped her lips before the blonde fell silent once more. Stepping between the graves, she eventually slumped to the ground, leaning against the back of a headstone. In front of her was a monument of a female angel with her wings unfurled and slightly bent, as though she were about wrap someone in a hug. Her hands stretched out before her, welcoming all. The only thing out of place was the tear falling down her face.

Looking up into her face Buffy wondered, 'Would you honestly be willing to welcome one of the damned? Why are you crying?' The vampire hadn't noticed it, but tears had begun to fall down her own face as she looked at the statue. 'Is it for me? Or for you?' Suddenly her mind took a radically different direction, 'This isn't fair! I gave everything I had to this fucking world, and this is what I get in return? What's even more fucked up is that you assholes didn't even take away my conscience. I killed that girl and I care about it. Why!? I thought I wasn't supposed to care anymore! Why am I like this? Why did Willow make me like this? No, that wasn't Willow.' Shaking her head, she brought her hands up to clutch the sides of her skull. 'But it was Willow. In every way, smell, looks, touch. But so was that other one.' Looking up, blinded by the tears streaming from her eyes, Buffy whispered, "Why do I still care so much?"

Stepping from behind the angel was Faith. With a smirk on her lips, she asked, "Whatcha doin out here, B? It's not safe for you." She got nothing in response. Buffy just kept on staring off into space. "Yo, B." Stepping a little closer, Faith still got nothing. Finally she bent over in front of the older Slayer and waved her hand back and forth.

"That's not something I have to worry about anymore, F" Buffy said suddenly and quietly while still staring forward.

Straightening, Faith looked at the blonde curiously. Somewhat hesitantly she asked, "What do you mean?"

The Slayer's eyes finally focused on the brunette. When their eyes locked, Faith realized her senses were going insane. Something was horribly wrong, and it went beyond the lost and hopeless look in Buffy's eyes. "Willow gave me a gift," the blonde said in her quiet voice.

Buffy was really beginning to creep out the younger Slayer, yet she held her ground. "What kind of gift, B?"

Looking away from Faith again, Buffy whispered, "One that's both beautiful and horrifying at the same time."

Getting more worried the longer the conversation went on, Faith was tempted to just leave things be. Pushing her hesitancy away, she pressed on, "Still not getting it."

A thoughtful look settled on Buffy's face for a moment before fleeing. Her eyes took on a childlike deviousness. "I could show you."

The way Buffy said that once again set off warning bells in the raven-haired slayer's head. This was what she had been looking for - whatever had messed up Buffy was this. "Sure, show me what Red got ya," Faith said as calmly as she could, yet her voice shook betraying her insecurity.

A small smile crept onto Buffy's face as she cocked it to the side like an inquisitive animal. Her face slowly moved into its demonic version.

As the change overcame her, a building horror rose in Faith. Like a chain reaction, thoughts raced through Faith, Buffy was a vampire, her new status was a gift from Willow - Willow must be a vampire, and the Mayor sent vamps to kill Willow… "Oh god… oh god… I didn't want this… I didn't think he'd do this," the words tumbled from her lips as she backed away from the now-giggling Buffy. Spinning Faith bolted, heading for a place she always regretted visiting. As she ran, the giggling behind her sounded more and more hysterical. She knew the sound would haunt her for the rest of her life.


End file.
